Dean, East

DEAN, EAST, a parish, in the union of Eastbourne, hundred of Willington, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Eastbourne; containing 360 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the English Channel, by which it is bounded on the south; the coast is bold and rocky, and on a high cliff a lighthouse has been erected within the last few years, immediately below which is a large cave, excavated in the solid rock, and called Darby's Cave. The village is in a secluded valley on the South Downs. The living is a vicarage, with that of Friston annexed, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the alternate patronage of the Bishop and the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, of whom the latter are the appropriators; net income, £276. The church is an ancient edifice, in the decorated English style, with a tower on the north side, of earlier date. On the Downs are several barrows and intrenchments. The Rev. Richard Michell, author of an essay entitled The Forester, was curate of the parish, and lies interred here.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, 7th edition, published in 1848.